Samuel F. Tappan of Lawrence wrote this letter to Thomas Higginson, informing him that the last letter he received from Higginson was lost in the Kansas River while Tappan was crossing it on horseback. Tappan also told Higginson that he had been elected secretary of the Leavenworth constitutional convention meeting that month. He discussed in detail the turn out of the votes concerning negro suffrage and women's suffrage, and mentioned the joyful reaction to the defeat of a Senate bill. According to Tappan, the border warfare had ceased and "it is almost impossible to excite a war spirit in Kanzas," further stating that "we rely wholly upon numbers now, and not upon Sharp's rifles." He expressed interest in having more women emigrate to Kansas, writing that "the fact is, women are scarce in Kansas and unmarried men numerous."

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